Three Cyniclons and a Baby
by fairywings81
Summary: AU Kisshu becomes the friend of a sixyearold girl who is in need of help to get away from her less than loving parents. When his friends,Pai and Tart get involved,will they be able to work together to take care of Kisshu's new responsibility?rnrnRated f
1. Kisshu's Softer Side?

**(My very first Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power fic. It IS AU. Before I get a bunch of flames,let me say that I have not read the manga (well much of it),or seen the original Japanese anime. I use the Japanese names,but Ichigo's attacks,as well as the attacks of the other Mews will be from the English Dub. Please do not flame or I will have to report you,and I don't wanna do that.**

**  
**

**Disclaimer:I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew/Mew Mew Power or any of the characters involved with it. Anything you don't recognize is mine.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter One-Kisshu's Soft Side?**

"Arissa! What do you think you're doing!" Mollie Stewards stared at her six-year-old in exasperation. The elder of the two had a splitting headache, the result of her all night clubbing, and having just woken up, the first thing she saw was Arissa making a loud mess in the kitchen. She started to advance on the child, but she slipped, falling on her face.

"I just making you breakfas'..." Arissa mumbled softly.

"You made a mess! Go to your room, now!" Mollie snapped, as she got into a kneeling position on the tiled kitchen floor. "I'll let your father see this mess!"

"Nooooo! Not Daddy!" Arissa started crying. The last thing she needed was another belting. "Please,Mama. Don't let him see!"

Mollie turned and glared at her daughter now. "I said go to your room! And don't come out for the rest of the day!"

Arissa sighed heavily, sniffling. She hated her life, and she desperately wished someone would come and take her away from it. Little did she know, someone was about to.

* * *

Kisshu studied the young girl from his perch outside her window. She was only a young Earthling, but yet...she had the kind of life Kisshu wouldn't have wished on his worst enemies. He dismissed the thought of killing her mother for the cruelty she'd shown. He leaned closer to the window, to get a better view of his subject. _If this is the girl they want to make Mew,maybe I better interfere while she's still young..._He tapped on the glass window just light enough to get her attention. He watched the young girl get up, and come over to him. He switched to the persona he used to talk to Tart on a regular basis. The one that really annoyed the youngest cyniclon. "Hey there...can you let me in?" 

Arissa's eyes widened, as she stared at the levitating being at her window. "You a stranger." She said finally, after contemplating for a minute. "I not allowed let strangers in."

Kisshu thought for a minute. "Actually, I'm your friend...Kisshu." He waited,as the young earth child seemed to think this over. "I came to help you.."

"How?" Arissa wanted to know. She had moved to climb up on her bookshelf carefully to reach the window locks.

"Oh,I don't know. You look like you need a friend, little one." Kisshu replied slowly. _How do I help her? Killing anyone in front of her would also kill my chances of gaining her full trust! Maybe there is something else I can do..._He looked up at the sound of a soft click. He helped Arissa get the window open more, and then entered the child's room. "Hmm. Very nice room..."

"I no like it." Arissa replied, folding her arms. Now that Kisshu had a better look at her, he saw that she was no more than six. She also looked like she hadn't had a bath in a few days. Her thick teal colored hair was a tangle of knots going in every direction. He felt sick to his stomach at this sight. Didn't Earth people care about their young! He held out a hand to her..wanting to offer comfort that she obviously needed.

"C'mere." He said softly. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'll take care of you." He pulled her into his arms,as he sat on the floor. He wrapped his arms around her,comfortably. "How did such a pretty thing like you get into such a mess as this?" He asked no one in particular. He smiled to himself when the girl relaxed in his arms. "That's it, just relax, and feel safe. No one will mess with you while I'm here."

"I'm glad you comed." Arissa replied,wiping her misty eyes. "I real glad."

Kisshu's heart leaped. It was for the first time, he realized, that he was needed for something other than taking over Earth. He didn't even care that this child was to be his future enemy. In his mind, Kisshu was re-writing her future to include him in every aspect. He rested his chin on the girl's hair, and sighed contentedly. _If only it was as simple as just bringing her back with me...Deep Blue will most certainly be against it, and Pai and Tart..._He shuddered, and pushed the plans for that out of his mind for the time being. He still had so much he had to find out about her.

* * *

"He's lost it." Pai snorted, as he and Tart watched Kisshu with the Earthling child. "I think all those blasts from the cat girls have gone to his head." 

"She is kinda cute..." Tart replied. "What do you think he's going to do with her?"

"How should I know? Kisshu's been more unpredictable than usual. Something tells me he does have an ulterior motive for befriending her besides trying to get cuddles though." He studied the scene a little more. "Maybe he knows something about her we don't. I don't know what's in his head anymore. He better not bring her up here. Deep Blue won't have it!"

"No kidding. He'd probably try to kill her on the spot." Tart agreed. "Hmm...hey,Pai... what if that _is _the plan though?"

Pai shook his head in exasperation. "It better not be. I won't tolerate either. He'll only cause more trouble for us if he tries to pull that."

Tart sighed, and went back to writing again. "Pai...I think Kisshu wants honestly to help her..."

"Help her? He can't even help himself!" Pai shook his head. "Maybe I better go down and talk him out of it.."

"No, not yet." Tart said now, going back to see what was going on down on the Blue Planet. "He's helping her bathe right now. He's not causing any harm. I think she needs him."

"When did you start caring what Earth children need? We're supposed to be conquering the planet, not helping it!" Pai through up his hands in disgust. "Deep Blue is not going to be pleased with this turn of events. This I know." He left to return to his quarters. He was too busy working on a new strategy to defeat the Mews to worry about Kisshu and his idiocy.

* * *

Oblivious to the goings on back home,Kisshu was genuinely having a good time with Arissa, whom,in turn,genuinely seemed to love his company. He helped her bathe, and get into some comfortable clothing. When it came time to straighten out her hair, he frowned. "Well now..I'm not much for doing hair,but..." He gently brushed out the girl's now silky locks. "It would look,in my opinion,really good in braids." 

"I like braids." Arissa replied. "Mama used to put them in for me..." She swallowed hard. "But her not nice no more."

"What happened? Why is your mother so mean?" Kisshu asked carefully. He pulled her into his lap, as they sat in her chair.

"Her goes to a lot of parties..." Came the quiet reply. "And Daddy's always angry."

"Would you like to get away from all this?" Kisshu asked her now. "We can go far away from here!" His displeasure with Arissa's parents was growing rapidly, with everything his young friend told him.

"I get in trouble.." Arissa started to get down now. "I have stay here."

"Wait...they can't punish you if they can't find you, right?" Kisshu smiled, scooping her up as they stood. "And I promise you, they won't."

"Kisshu...? Where from?" She'd just realized he wasn't human, it seemed.

"Uh well...see,I'm...from a place...called...er...it's a whole different planet." He decided to tell her, figuring it was a safe answer. "We're called the Cyniclons."

"You're an Aliem! Cool!" Arissa snuggled up to his chest now.

"Alien...eh. Well, I guess I am..." Kisshu refrained from being annoyed by that term. Besides, Arissa was only a baby in comparison to him. "Now, what do you say we go find a new place to hide?"

"'kay..." Arissa giggled, and laid her head on his shoulder, as her elder friend teleported the two of them out. She had the feeling she would never be the same again.

* * *

_Now that I've got her safely asleep for at least four hours, I'm going to go pay her parents a visit. I couldn't do it in front of her, but she' s safe here in this boxcar for now. _Kisshu smiled down at his newest charge. "Sleep well, little one. I'll be back soon." He teleported back to the girl's house, an infuser in hand. He looked around,and found a squirrel. "Go my infuser. Make those negligent Earth parents pay!" 

"Stop right there, Kisshu!" Ichigo leaped in front of the doorway to the house. "Just what do you think you're doing!"

"Going to battle for someone who can't." Kisshu replied calmly. "Are you going to stop me from dispensing justice?" This was one time when he was not happy to see his much lusted after crush.

Ichigo looked bewildered. "You mean Arissa?" Suddenly, a look of panic came over her. "Where is she!"

"Don't worry,Kitty cat. She's perfectly safe." Kisshu replied, still holding the infuser. "Her parents have really hurt her."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you care about children!"

"Since I found out how cruel you Earthlings can be with your young and helpless! Now,infuser,go!"

Ichigo watched in horror,as the predacite merged with the innocent squirrel. "Alright,Kisshu! You asked for it! Power Pendant, Mewtamorphosis!"

Kisshu growled, knowing he would not get his way. "So be it,Kitty cat. But you'll never find Arissa! She's mine now!" He teleported out then.


	2. Breaking the Rules: Pai's Decision

**(A/n : I am working from the anime. The English dub at that, and things are different. Kisshu's phrases,and pet names for Ichigo, for instance. Also, though I realize some things may be out of character for the aliens,please remember this an AU fic, and things are not going to be exactly as they really are. )**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Two-Breaking the Rules: Pai's decision**

"Are you serious! Kisshu, taking care of a child?" Lettuce couldn't believe what Ichigo was saying to them. "Is that even possible?"

"It sure seems like it. He's very protective of her." Ichigo slumped in her chair. "I know I should probably try and get her back, but...he seems to really care for her."

"Don't be so naïve. The only reason that creep would even be interested in a child is if she posed a threat!" Mint declared. "I say we go after him, before he makes her get attached to him..."

"Wait! Come on, you guys. I saw the look of concern on his face,behind that evil persona of his. He took her away from her parents because they were hurting her. Does that sound like someone who wants to hurt an innocent child to you?"

"Well, I still think he has an ulterior motive, but whatever." Mint crossed her arms, and went off to wipe down some tables.

"Am I wrong?" Ichigo looked to her other friends now. "I mean, he only seemed interested in paying the parents back for hurting their own child. It wasn't a random attack like usual..."

"It's hard to know for sure. This _is_ Kisshu we're talking about, after all." Zakuro replied slowly. "Maybe we should...confront him about it.."

"Confront who about what?" Ryou Shirogane came up to them now.

"It's a tough situation. One of the Cyniclons kidnapped one of my babysitting charges from her abusive parents. I want to get her away from him, but, at the same time, I don't really know if he plans on hurting her himself!" Ichigo moaned stressfully.

"Knowing the Cyniclons..." Ryou began, "he probably does intend to hurt her. Maybe not until later, but, all the same. Ichigo, I want you girls to bring that girl away from him."

"But, Ryou! He pretty much insisted on taking care of her! He's not going to give her up without a fight."

"Then we fight." Mint returned to them now. "I'm with Ryou. We just can't be sure of his true motives, Ichigo."

"What if she's already attached to him?" Pudding put in now. "Won't it be kind of hard to convince her that he's no good?"

"That is all the more reason to get her away from him as soon as possible. Ichigo, I'm leaving it up to you, but that is my suggestion." Ryou's tone held a note of finality, as he walked away.

"Argh! I hate making difficult choices!" Ichigo moaned. "Alright, girls. I'm going to try and talk to him."

"Talk! Ichigo, he's not going to listen to you!" Mint shot now. "He's the bad guy, remember?"

"Yes...but he's a bad guy who has good intentions at the moment..." Ichigo replied calmly. She got up, and headed for the door. "See you guys later."

"Ichigo, wait..." Lettuce got up, and followed. "I'll go with you. Just in case." She smiled.

"Thanks, Lettuce." The two friends walked off to find out where Kisshu was hiding the child.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kisshu was having his own problems. Pai had turned up, and was trying to talk him out of his crazy plans to raise Arissa as his sister. "It's not a bad idea! If I can make her think we're the good guys..." 

"Not only is it a bad idea, it's impractical!" Pai insisted. "Listen to reason for once, will you? If you even bring her home for a minute, she'll be dead. You know Deep Blue won't allow for it!"

"Then I guess I'm staying here then." Kisshu snapped in agitation. "She can't survive on her own, and I'll be dead before I let the Mew Girls have her."

"No die..." Arissa looked over at the two aliens now. "I love you..."

Pai grunted in disgust. "I don't believe this..." He rubbed his temples in irritation. "Alright, Kisshu. You know how much I'm against this, don't you?"

"Wai! She's adorable!" Tart appeared now, bearing food and clothing. "Can we keep her, Pai? Can we?" He sat down beside Arissa, and smiled. "I'm Tart. Kisshu's one of my brothers."

"Tart...I like name." Arissa replied, grinning. "What bring?" Now Arissa seemed to be preoccupied with Tart's bag of goodies.

"Help me, Pai. All I want to do is be a friend to her. She doesn't have any, and no parents to love her. I can't imagine how that feels, but it has to be a sad life."

Pai sighed. "Alright. I'll go home, and do some research. We'll leave Tart here with her for the moment. You need to make an appearance so Deep Blue doesn't get too upset with you."

Kisshu was elated. At least he'd have help taking care of Arissa now. "Thanks..."

"Just so you know, I'm only doing this because, like you, I don't like how she was being treated. It doesn't mean I think we should keep her forever." Pai informed him, before teleporting home. Kisshu only smiled, following him.

* * *

"Fish! I win!" Tart smiled at Arissa kindly. "But I'll let you have the snack." He handed her a bag of pretzel-like things. "I think you'll like these." He opened the bag for her. 

Arissa studied the contents carefully, then tasted a bit cautiously. "This good...I like it."

"Good. I wasn't sure what kind of food you Earth people ate..I guess I should ask Pudding."

"Who's her?" Arissa asked, as she munched on the pretzels in her small fist. "Her an aliem too?"

"Ahh. No. She's an Earthling, like you." Tart smiled. "She's one of my enemies...sort of." He moved to sit closer to her, feeling the temperature drop a little. "I hope Kisshu and Pai hurry back...it's getting kind of cold, and we're probably going to need to get you a little warmer.."

"I no like Pai. He a drowned rat!" Arissa pouted. "And he no like me eifer."

Tart cracked up now. "Drowned rat? Wait'll he hears that!" He pulled her closer to him. "Yeah...he can be a real drag sometimes. It's his way of showing he cares, really." Tart glanced out of the boxcar idly, hearing low voices. "You stay here, okay, Arissa? I've to go check something out."

" 'kay. I'll stay." Arissa crawled over to the small bed of leaves Kisshu had provided her with.

"Good girl..." Tart whispered softly, going out of the boxcar. He had the impression there were unwelcome guests outside that he did not want near her.

* * *

"Tart! Where's Kisshu? I came to speak to him, not you." Mew Ichigo stared at the young alien coldly. 

"Kisshu's not here right now." Tart replied, forming an energy ball in the palm of his hand. "I'll give him the message." He threw the ball at Mew Ichigo, snickering. "If it's about the girl, you'd just be wasting your time, and your breath."

"Give her back!" Mew Lettuce spoke up now. "Or else!"

"Or else what?" Tart demanded. "She thinks we're her friends. If you try to hurt any of us, she'll never go to you willingly."

"Ugh!" Ichigo scowled. _He's bluffing! There's no way they could've all bonded with her this quickly! _"Where is she!"

"I'm not telling you. She's hiding." Tart replied, smugly. "We're playing a game."

"Ichigo..." Lettuce pointed past Tart to a figure in the shadows. "Is that her?"

"Arissa!" Ichigo moved to go to the child, but Tart was faster. "Let me pass!"

"No." Tart replied, a pout on his lips. "She's ours now." He turned, and picked Arissa up gently. "Arissa, you were supposed to go to sleep..."

"Too noisy..." Arissa yawned, laying her head against Tart's shoulder.

"I don't believe it..." Ichigo said in a hushed voice. "She really trusts him..."

"You see, Cat girl? She wants to stay with me." Tart smirked, and disappeared with the little earthling back to the boxcar.


	3. The Plan of the Three

**Chapter Three-The Plan of the Three  
**

When Tart had them safely back at the boxcar, he set Arissa down sharply. "You said you were going to stay put!" He frowned at her. "Do you realize you could've been taken away!" He muttered to himself. _Oh great. Now I sound like Pai! _

"I sorry,Tart..." Arissa clutched at Tart's sleeve. "I no like being alone..."

Tart sighed, and patted her head. "It's alright. I shouldn't have left you alone anyway. They could've been a distraction." He looked out of the opening. "Wonder where Kisshu and Pai are...it's getting pretty late.."

Arissa shrugged. "They fighting other aliems." Well,in most of the movies she'd seen that's how it went anyway...

Tart snickered. "I doubt that, unless you mean by fighting arguing. In that case, you might be right. See,our boss Deep Blue doesn't like Kisshu too much, and him taking in a child like you probably ticked him off."

"Is him in trouble?" Arissa looked worried now. "I didn't mean gets him in trouble.."

Tart shook his head. "You didn't. He did it to himself,if he got in trouble at all." He took her by the hand, and led her over to her leaf pallet. "Why don't you take a nap? Kisshu will be back soon, and if you take a nap,the time will go by faster."

"You not leaving, right?" Arissa settled into her pile,then looked up at him with a pout.

"Nah. I'll stay here. I'm gonna play some jacks." He removed a pack of the jacks game, and spilled them to the boxcar floor. "Just rest for a while, okay?" He went about playing silently. _I had no idea taking care of a child would be so difficult! Now I know how Pai feels, I guess._

_

* * *

_

"Alright. We got some things together, and did a bit of research on child rearing..." Pai explained to Tart. "Seems they're more dependent on parental units than we are. And for longer."

"So, we need a system." Kisshu put in, as he glanced over at Arissa. "And I don't think this is necessarily the best place to keep her either. Their cold season is approaching, and we don't have the proper wear for her."

"What do you suggest we do then,Kisshu?" Pai demanded. "You know taking her home is out..."

"Maybe one of us could go back to her house and look for winter clothes...?" Tart suggested. "And then we could...wait! I got it. We'll use one of our ships!"

"Are you crazy? How would we explain _that_? I had a hard enough time explaining why I was researching Earth children as it is!" Pai frowned.

"I hate to say it, but I think pipsqueak here might be on to somethin'..." Kisshu looked over at Arissa's sleeping form again. "I just wonder if she'll be able to breathe the air in space.."

"Don't be stupid! Of course she can't. They use special suits when they're exploring above their atmosphere. Although...we had to take special care coming down into it ourselves..." Pai frowned in deep though. "Maybe I could develop a special concoction to help her body adjust to our air..."

"That should work. In the meantime, Tart and I can go look for some clothes for her." Kisshu was beside himself with anticipation. They were really going to do it. They were going to take care of another being, like their own. _As strange as this all is, it feels very right. Pai might not see it now, but this child has already brought us closer as a team...now if only we can get her off this planet without those pesky Mews interfering..._

"Excuse me? I don't think so. You're not both leaving. Or if you have to , take her with you."

Kisshu returned to the present situation at hand. "Oh...fine." He walked over and picked the sleeping child up. "Arissa, it's time to wake up. I have a surprise for you."

Tart frowned then,and looked at Pai. "Something tells me it's going to be very difficult to pull this off."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Pai asked now. He loved to humor his younger friend.

"Because that old hag Ichigo came here earlier tonight, demanding to talk to Kisshu. I think she wants the human girl back."

Pai smirked now. "Is that so? Well, all the more incentive for me to help. We're leaving tomorrow night. For the time being, make sure that child stays hidden, and out of the Mews' reach."

Tart groaned. "Please don't hurt her, whatever you do..." Tart, who was normally not fond of humans, found that he didn't really despise the baby Earthling as much. She was still young enough to teach their ways to.

"Hurt her? Our new sister? Never." Pai laughed, and then went about making arrangements for a ship to house them in.

Tart watched him for a minute, before shuddering. He went over to see if Kisshu needed anything. "We should be careful, Kisshu. I think I just really might've put Arissa in danger..."

"Oh don't worry about Pai. He just realized how doing this can benefit our cause." Kisshu remarked, after glancing over at his elder friend to see what Tart meant. Then he looked down at Arissa, who seemed a bit disoriented, and fussy. "What's the matter,little one? We're just going to go do a little shopping for warmer clothes while big brother Pai over there gets us a ship."

"It's going to be the size of a human mansion. And I bet Pai will rig it so that you have all kinds of toys!" Tart told the child grandly.

"Let's not get carried away..." Pai replied bluntly. "She'll have enough to entertain herself, but I have no intention of spoiling her." He came over to Arissa now. "You're going to be one of us now. What do you say to that?"

The six-year-old amber eyed girl grinned. "I glad. Cause Kisshu my best friend." She then curled up against Kisshu, comfortably.

Pai smirked. "There's no way those Mew Mews are going to get anywhere near her now. Go and get her things then, while I work on that concoction."  
Tart and Kisshu dematerialized then, and Pai returned to his work. Soon, nothing short of Deep Blue himself would stop them from taking what they wanted.

* * *

The night air was cooler than it had been in a while. Arissa clung to Kisshu for warmth, though it didn't help too much. The young girl looked about the dark streets of her neighborhood with alert wide eyes. "They not home..." She whispered softly to her alien friends. 

"Good. Tart, you go in and get some things with long sleeves." Kisshu instructed. Of the two of them, Tart was the one with the sticky fingers for thievery. The elder alien looked to Arissa. "Where does your mother put your coat when you're not wearing it?"

For a minute, Arissa didn't reply. Then she looked to the ground ashamed. "I don't 'member.." She didn't like to disappoint Kisshu. She wanted to be as helpful as possible.

"It's alright. Tart will find it, won't you?" He looked to his younger teammate.

"Sure I will! I'm good at finding and taking things. Is there anything else you want to bring with you, Rissa?"

Arissa shook her head, though she pictured Ichigo, her favorite sitter in her mind. "Just Ichigo."

"Wh-who!" Kisshu's eyes narrowed. "Did you say Ichigo?"

"Uh huh. Her's my sitter." Arissa looked up at him. "Her is really nice, like you."

_I'll just bet she is! Now I know why Kitty Cat was there this afternoon. Well, too bad for the both of them they won't be seeing much of each other anymore..._Kisshu forced himself to calm down, and give her a toothy smile. "Ichigo's not invited on this trip. It's just for me,you,Pai and Tart. It's a secret, so we can't tell anyone about it, okay?"

"Ooh..I like secrets." Arissa smiled confidentially. "No worry,Kisshu. I no tell!"

"Shh! People will get curious if we get too loud. Go on now, Tart. I'll just take Arissa over to that little park over there. We'll meet you there."

"Right!" Tart soon disappeared to fetch the things Kisshu had listed. Kisshu and Arissa headed over to the park, where they hid in the little playhouse until dawn's light returned Tart to them.

"I got everything we needed." Tart announced loudly, before being shushed.  
"She's asleep again. Poor girl. It was such a long day for her yesterday. This probably brings new meaning to their phrase "alien abduction".

"What a silly phrase." Tart commented. "We better get back to Pai, and see how the preparations are coming."

"Yeah..." Kisshu took the bag of clothing in his free hand, and the three teleported back to their secret base in the woods.


	4. Teamwork and Tantrums

**Chapter Four- Teamwork ****and ****Tantrums**

"I can't believe you didn't try harder to get her!" Mint shook her head. "So what if she was attached to them. She's six, and not quite capable of thinking alone."

The five Mew Mews were sitting around Mint's room, discussing the events of the previous night. The atmosphere was tense,considering the failed mission. "Ryou's not going to be very happy."

"He's not." Ichigo confirmed. "I just...I didn't want to scare her, so..."

"She looked like she'd already been through a lot as it was. Maybe we can try again in a couple of days. We could catch them off guard or something." Lettuce put in now. "Maybe we ought to send Pudding in to deal with Tart."

"Sure I'll do it!" Pudding agreed. "I haven't seen him in a long time." Pudding smiled, thinking about the last time they'd been in battle. "Heh. He didn't know what hit him until it was too late! But I felt so bad afterwards, when he was helping me up..."

"You've got the same problem with him that I have with Kisshu, except you actually like him." Ichigo mused now.

"I do not!" Pudding shot back with a slight pout. "It's just..it's hard to hate someone who's nice to you all the time in battle!"

Zakuro rolled her eyes. "Do you think she's safe with them if we wait?" She asked now, returning everyone to the topic at hand. "I mean, how long do you think we can safely wait?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I don't know..." She shook her head. "I don't think Kisshu would let anything bad happen to her. I mean, he took her from abusive parents.."

Her teammates didn't reply at first. Each thinking over the situation. The room was so quiet, that everyone jumped when Zakuro spoke again.

"The "anything bad" that he won't let happen could mean us, taking her from him, though. That's what I'm worried about."

"Very true..." Mint nodded. Silence again overtook them. Obviously this was not going to be a situation to take lightly. There was a child involved. It wasn't like all the other times with the Cyniclons. There was another ,younger, human being involved. And one that was supposedly going to be a Mew Mew someday. So it was almost like a family member being in trouble. The problem was that the Cyniclons seemed to have adopted her too. This was indeed going to be difficult for everyone involved. "Well,I still say we should go after them head on." Mint finally broke the silence once more. "The sooner, the better." Her teammates, even Ichigo, had to agree.

* * *

"Alright. The ship is secured." Pai told Kisshu. All we have to do is get her to take this mixture, and everything should be fine up there." He had been busy all day, getting things ready for their departure. Tart had been on the lookout for trouble, and Kisshu had been keeping Arissa preoccupied. He knew where they were going to meet the ship, but he wasn't sure if they could get off the planet without alerting the Mew Mews. 

"Excellent..." Kisshu glanced over at Arissa, who was bundled into her coat, and playing with some toy Tart had pilfered for her. He smiled to himself,watching her. _Soon, little one...soon, you'll be able to play anywhere you like on the ship. Just be patient. _It had been difficult to keep her quiet and out of sight. His conniving nature had come in handy then, yet, Kisshu couldn't help but feel bad for having to keep her under slight restraint. "The sooner we get her off this miserable planet, the better for her. She needs room to run."

"Yeah..." Pai replied, sounding distracted. "I can't help but think something is going to go wrong though..."

"What could go wrong! We've almost made it,Pai. We have only to wait until nightfall, and we're in the clear." Kisshu encouraged. "Anyway, we should probably give Arissa that medicine now..."

"Go ahead. But only a small dose. I'm not quite sure how she's going to take it..." The elder alien handed Kisshu the vial. He walked off then, out of the boxcar's confines.

* * *

The night was similar to the night before. Cold and crisp. Pai shook his head. This air was still too clean for his liking. He couldn't help but think about the plans he'd left back at the base ship. If only he hadn't gotten involved with Kisshu and his foolery! Yet...yet, he couldn't deny the certain amount of protectiveness he felt towards Arissa. He may not be one to be overly kind to humans, but for some reason, he found himself actually sorry for the hand the child had been dealt. He understood why Kisshu had done what he had done, as out of character as it was for him. Pai wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't have done the same thing. He sighed, shaking his head. 

Pai heard some rustling to the South of their location, and immediately went on the alert. He levitated himself a little, to see what it was causing the ruckus. His eyes narrowed, seeing the Mew Mews there. _I thought so. I knew they weren't going to let us just take that girl with us so easily! _Pai dematerialized, heading back to the boxcar to warn Kisshu.

A full blown tantrum was in progress when Pai returned to Kisshu and his little charge. Apparently, Kisshu had resorted to taking her toy away from her when she wouldn't take the medicine. Pai raised an eyebrow at the commotion. "What in the world..!"

"She won't take her medicine!" Kisshu explained over the child's screaming. "I was trying to get her to take it, and she kicked me!"

"Is that so?" Pai stalked over to Arissa, who was kicking the wall of the boxcar violently with her heels. He scooped her up, and restrained her with both arms wrapped firmly around her middle,holding her arms down. "Stop it! Stop right now, or...else!" _Gotta remember she's not of our race. Gotta remember she's still little.._He reminded himself. "This is unacceptable!" That did the trick. The child stopped struggling, and went limp in Pai's arms. "Now, are you going to behave?"

"Uh huh..." Arissa sniffled, wiping her eyes with her fists.

"Will you take your medicine for Kisshu?" Pai asked now, making sure to talk with measured firmness. Tart had been a problem at this age too. And firmness was definitely the key in regaining control of an unruly child.

Arissa nodded again. "Uh huh."

"Good." Pai put her down, and then nodded for Kisshu to give her the medicine. "When she takes it, give her the toy back." As he turned to go find Tart, he gave Kisshu a Look that clearly depicted that there was trouble approaching them. Kisshu nodded, and then turned his attention to Arissa.

* * *

"Alright. So everyone knows what to do right?" Ichigo asked. "Try not to scare Arissa too much...alright?" 

"I'll take care of Arissa." Pudding decided allowed. "Cause I bet I can convince her to come with us."

"Sounds good. Just be careful." Lettuce advised. "The rest of us will distract them." With that ,the five girls descended upon the clearing where the boxcar base was. They were met there by Tart and Pai.

* * *

"We were wondering when you would turn up." Pai smirked a bit from his perch in a tree. "You five really have some bad timing." 

Tart nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We're kinda busy!" He was sitting on the roof of the boxcar. He looked down at the five, then looked to Pudding. "Come for another play date then?"

"Actually..." Pudding began, but then she shook her head. "Where's Arissa?"

"That's for us to know, and you not to." Tart replied with a smirk. "Maybe if you beat me in a game of jacks I'll tell you." In truth, Tart had no idea where either the human child or Kisshu had teleported off too. He'd only just gotten back seconds before the girls had gotten there.

"Stop fooling around!" Pai snapped at Tart. "Get them!" He could never understand Tart's need to toy with the one called Pudding.

Ichigo had slowly crept closer to the boxcar entrance from another direction. She climbed in, expecting to see Kisshu there, restraining the child. She was unpleasantly surprised. The car itself was empty save for a few leaves in a corner. She leaped out of the opening. "Where are they, Pai!" She glared at the alien in the tree.

"If you beat us,we'll hand her over." Pai declared, a smug look on his face. He had no intention of giving Arissa up.

"You're an idiot!" Mint answered. "Let's get them, girls!" All five of them moved into battle ready stance. "You made a mistake, challenging us."

"We shall see." Pai replied. "Let's go Tart."


	5. Conflicts of Interest

**(A/N: Yikes,this one was a doozy to write, but thanks to Kisshu,Pai,Tart and Daisy-sama,I got it all done. It's a bit longer than my last ones,I think. Hopefully I pulled off more detail, but I'm not really too sure...! Anyway, please Read and Review!) **

**Chapter Five-Conflicts of Interest  
**

The battle went into action, with each side giving their best shots. Pudding and Tart seemed to be the only ones that were reluctant to fight with each other.

"You know it doesn't have to be this way.." Pudding told him, after he'd helped her up from one of his blasts. "You could just tell me where she is."

"Really I would, if I knew." Tart replied, backing away from Pudding's weapon of choice. He produced an infuser. "Sorry about this..." He muttered, infusing it with a nearby vine.

"Don't worry about it!" Pudding replied. She continued to fight with the vine, eventually winning. "Alright! Now, it's my turn!" She turned her weapon on him once more, hoping this time to knock him flat on his back. The two continued to fight, though it looked more like a friendly sparring round.

Meanwhile, Kisshu had returned, childless, and was dealing with Ichigo. "Why don't you believe me when I tell you she's safe!" He produced another set of energy balls, and used them to block Ichigo's strawberry check.

"Why should I believe anything you say, you perverted sneak!" Came Ichigo's reply, as she dodged. "She doesn't belong with you!" She wasn't about to give up on getting Arissa back yet.

"On the contrary, Kitty Cat. She really wants to stay with me. Your kind has done nothing but hurt her since the day she was brought into this miserable world." Kisshu folded his arms. "I would never dream of hurting her." Kisshu found that he meant every word of what he told her. He really didn't want to hurt Arissa at all. And he was certain even his human-despising teammates felt the same way. They had fallen in love with Arissa, who wasn't old enough to judge them the way these mew mews did. _And I will do anything I can to make sure she keeps her opinion of us the same. Five minutes with these girls would destroy it all! _"This is nothing personal, Kitten, but I have to go." Before Ichigo could reply, Kisshu dematerialized.

"Ugh! Okay, girls, stand down!" Everyone, aside from Pudding stopped mid-attack. The youngest Mew Mew was playing with Tart. Ichigo and Pai sighed in unison. "Pudding, let's go!"

"Get over here,Tart!" Pai ordered. The two remaining Cyniclons left.

* * *

On their ship, Kisshu let Arissa out of his closet, motioning for her to stay quiet. "Sorry about that...I hope you weren't too scared..." He picked her up. 

"I not scared of nothin'." Arissa replied bravely, but she was shaking, just the same.

"Shh! Even I'm afraid of Deep Blue! We'll go where we can really talk, okay?" He wrapped a small shawl around the girl's arms, and they left to go to the new ship Pai had gotten for them.

Pai was waiting for the two when they reappeared. "Have you lost your brains! What if we'd gotten caught with her?"

"Don't worry about it, Pai. She was a perfect angel." Kisshu replied smoothly. "Anyway, we're in the clear now." As he said this, he set Arissa down. "This is your new home, Arissa. You have free run of the entire ship."

"Well, except for the control room. You can only be in there with supervision." Pai added quickly. "Otherwise, feel free to go wherever you want." The two aliens watched the girl take in everything, slowly examining one room after another. Pai followed her around, knowing the ones he'd gotten to work under the table to keep the ship going would do just that. He'd told them that he,Kisshu and Tart had acquired a new responsibility, but hadn't gone into detail about it. "So...I hope this room and the next are to your liking. There's not much to them,but that will change with time." He said now, as they reached the sector of the dorms he had deemed as hers.

"These really big!" Arissa smiled in delight. "And not cold, like before." She added after a minute. She turned, and gave Pai a big hug around the knees. "Thank you, Pai.."

Pai smiled awkwardly, unaccustomed to this show of affection, and not sure how he felt about it. He patted her on the head after a minute. "It was no trouble at all."

"Come and see the neat things I got for you." Kisshu called from within one room that was her bedroom. "I'm sure I saw a few human children with these." He held out a couple of toys to her. _Heh, and I had taken them away to give to you..._He thought to himself, as he watched her examine them carefully. "Do you like these kinds of toys?"

Arissa studied the stuffed animals and dolls carefully. "I like dolls..." She said slowly, cradling one in her arms. "This one called Ichigo."

"I-ichigo? How about...Serena, or Luna?" Kisshu suggested. _I refuse to be reminded of that look of annoyance on my kitty cat's face! It's bad enough I have to see her again sooner than I'd planned! _

"Uh uh! I name her Ichigo." Arissa replied sternly. "Her's pretty."

"Okay, okay. Ichigo it is." Pai replied hastily,not in the mood for another tantrum over something silly. "This is all the toys you have right now, but if you're good, and do exactly what we tell you, we'll give you more, alright?"

"'kay!" Arissa ran to explore the other room now.

"She's just at the right age where toys are a good incentive to keep her behaving and on our side." Pai told Kisshu. "It's the best thing we can do for her..."

"I'm not so sure..." Kisshu replied. "I'm starting to wonder if this really is the best thing for her..." He shook his head. _What am I saying! It doesn't matter what's best for her! This is about us, winning at least part of our battle. We have something those girls want. And that something thinks we're the good guys because of what I did! If I turn on her now..._With a bored yawn, he walked into Arissa's playroom, and after a few minutes, the two friends were playing a quiet game of what Arissa called "Guess What I'm Doing".

Pai watched them in the doorway silently, lost in his own plans for the future. If everything went according to plan, Arissa would grow up on their side, and as soon as she was Tart's current age, he would send her into battle.

"Penny for your thoughts, Pai." Tart had come up behind him.

"Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about. I'm turning in for the night. See you in the morning." Pai left abruptly. _There will be time enough for telling them my plans. If I tell them now..._The eldest Cyniclon went back to his room across from the control room.

Tart watched him go, and then turned, and went into Arissa's room to see what she would want for a snack before bed.

* * *

"You lost her again?" Keiichiro raised an eyebrow at the five girls. "They must really have her under lock and key..." 

"I don't think so. I think she actually wants to be with them." Ichigo said, as she wiped down another table. For a Saturday morning, Cafe Mew Mew had been really busy. Now it was closed, after Ryou and Keiichiro had called a meeting.

"When Lettuce and I confronted Tart, she was clinging to him like glue." She sat down with a sigh. _This is getting ridiculous! And crazy. First Kisshu adopting a human, and now she thinks we're the bad guys. Things couldn't get any worse if they wanted to! _

"Ryou and I did some searching on that girl too. She's not who we thought, though that doesn't dismiss the issue of her staying with the Cyniclons." Keiichiro paused. "Her parents died late yesterday afternoon from suffocation."

"Kisshu..." Ichigo clenched her fists. "I told him not to do it!"

"When was the last time he listened to you?" Mint asked now, putting a hand on her shoulder. "So, where does she go if and when we take her back?" This to Keiichiro, as she sat down. "I mean, after all this, I think an orphanage would be a bit much for her..."

"You're right. I wouldn't want her in one of those places either." Pudding agreed. "They're no fun." She bit into her coffee cake, and grinned. "This is great, Keiichiro. You're awesome."

"Heh...thanks..." Keiichiro beamed proudly.

"Can we get back to the subject at hand? Ichigo did raise an important question..." Ryou stepped in now to restore order.

"It's not important." Keiichiro replied with a smooth smile. "Trust me on this." He looked at the five girls again. "However, it is important that you keep trying to get her back. "

_Easier said than done! I feel just awful about this whole thing. She's just a little thing, and she really seems to like Kisshu and his friends. But, Mint was right. She's only six, and she can't know how dangerous they truly are...though, I'm certain they'd never harm her...I don't know why I know that...I just do..._Ichigo sighed deeply. "We'll keep trying,but, Keiichiro, you've never seen her with them. They all have a mutual adoration for each other. She completely trusts all three of them!"

"Be that as it may..." Ryou began, but he didn't get to finish. There was a loud buzzing from the basement, where they kept their computer equipment. "Sounds like trouble..."

"So what else is new?" Mint replied in agitation. "Can't a girl finish her tea in peace just once?"

"I'm only sending two of you this time anyway. Zakuro and Pudding, the disturbance seems to be coming from the park."

Ichigo scowled. She knew exactly what Ryou was doing. He figured Ichigo didn't want to help get the girl back from the aliens, and that she would, therefore, deliberately let them go. "I'll go." She said firmly.

"No, I need you here for something else." Ryou told her, giving her a stern Look. "You better go on, girls." He watched the two assigned mew mews leave, then turned to Ichigo. "I'm sorry, but I think it would be better for all parties involved for you to just sit this one out now."

"Sit it out! But I'm the leader!" Ichigo muttered under her breath. "It's not I can help how I feel..."

"Exactly. That's why it'll be better to let the other mews handle this. You're too emotionally attached." Ryou replied, leaving the room. "You can help Keiichiro in the kitchen." He called over his shoulder.

"He's crazy!" Ichigo told Mint. "If he thinks I'm going to sit around and let this go, he's nuts!"

"He's right." Mint replied, looking sympathetic. This was rarity. "As much as you hate Kisshu, you don't want to hurt him by taking away something he generally seems to care for. And you're attached to Arissa because of babysitting for her. It's a lose-lose situation for both of them, if they can't be parted for their own good, and you don't want to be responsible for the results." She stood up, and left the cafe then, leaving Ichigo to think about this. Ichigo watched her, and then, with a deep sigh, went into the kitchen to help Keiichiro.


	6. The Ambush Abduction

**Chapter Six-The Ambush Abduction**

"That really cool. I wish I haved powers like that!" Arissa was watching Tart at work from the control room in the ship. "What he doing that for?" She looked up at Pai questioningly. "Kisshu said you like clean places, not dirty..." Two months had passed since Arissa had been brought to Pai's base ship. She hadn't asked to go back home, and surprisingly, her health had not deteriorated. She rather liked being with the Cyniclons. Pai had been catching her up, and advancing her studied in mathematics and sciences, while Kisshu and Tart were teaching her their way of life. At her question, Pai sighed deeply, before reply.

"Yes, that's what we like, but see, the people of Earth have completely destroyed what we used to have. And in order to regain it back,we have to...put them to sleep for a long time."

"Are they getting hurted?" Arissa asked, watching the screen again. "They look sick..."

Pai laughed softly, picking her up now. "Aren't you full of questions today! Why don't we ask Tart when he comes back, alright? In the mean time, I want to see if you remember those things I taught you yesterday before lunch." He carried her out of the control room. Putting her down, he made a shooing motion. "I'll be in your room in a minute to check, alright?"

" 'kay, Pai..." Arissa scampered off without another word. Pai turned the corner, going into Kisshu's room. "Kisshu, we need to talk.."

"What's up?" Kisshu hopped down from his bed, curiously. "Isn't she getting big?"

"And inquisitive." Pai replied. His eyes narrowed in thought. "What if we start teaching her?"

"Teaching her..? You mean how to...make infusers...?" Kisshu blinked. The thought had never occurred to him for that. "But...she's human..." He replied, stating the obvious. "We can't teach her an ability she doesn't have."

"Maybe not that...but all humans have the ability to pollute and litter. It's practically built into their nature." Pai explained. "We'll get to see if she really is on our side."

"I don't like it." Kisshu told him, folding his arms. "I found her. I should get to say what we do with her." In truth, Kisshu would have preferred Arissa never going to Earth again. He still feared that she was young enough to be assuaged by the Mews or one of their leaders into staying.

"Kisshu, it's not fair to make her stay on the ship. She should be with children her own age. They could probably teach her better than we can how to pollute." Pai tried another tactic to get his way. "There's a fifty-percent chance she'll never even run into the mews. And if she does, one of us will be keeping an eye on things."

"And there's the other fifty-percent that she will." Kisshu snapped. "No. She stays here."

"Very well. You're the big brother..." Pai meant that Kisshu was the big brother of Arissa, not him, of course. "I just thought she might like to help us, since she's always asking us how we do certain things."

Kisshu watched Pai leave, as he levitated back up to his cot. _We never said she'd ever go into a dangerous situation. Going down there guarantees certain trouble for her! I doubt even Ichigo would resist taking her and hiding her away from us if she had a chance to do it without me around. Maybe I could take her down there, and supervise her a bit, but it wouldn't have to be a long stay._

_

* * *

_

When Tart got back, Arissa pounced on him for answers. "How do it!"

"Heh...I was sort of born with that ability, and..." He started tickling her. "This one!" He laughed, listening to her giggle.

"Not fair! You cheat!" Arissa retaliated gleefully. And unknowingly, she hit a spot where Tart had gotten hurt. The young alien hissed in pain. "I sorry..." Arissa backed up a little. "Are okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine..." Tart forced a convincing smile, ruffling her hair. "You win this one, but I'll be back!" He left to go tend to his badly bruised side. _Those Mews! I can't stand them! Who cares if Pudding sweet, and good at jacks! They almost killed me that time! Unbelievable! I can't believe we're raising one of those pathetic humans ourselves. Heh.. Arissa's not human! She's one of us now. Even though, she does look the way she does..._He carefully bandaged his bruised rib. He'd purposely not told Pai or Kisshu about being injured. Those two were overly protective as it was. He wanted to take care of himself for a change. As he was ready to put the disinfectants away, he heard sniffling in the doorway. He turned to see Arissa looking sad, and sorry. "Arissa, what's wrong?" He squatted as low as his bandaged ribs would let him.

"I hurted you...I no meant to..." She looked at the floor, until Tart cupped her chin in his own hand.

"You didn't hurt me..." He stood up now. "Our enemy did. You know those mean mew mews I told you about? Well, Pudding wasn't there this time, so I had to deal with the others, and they weren't nice." He held out his hand. "Did Pai give you your lunch yet?"

"Nuh uh. I wanted wait for you." She let Tart lead her out of the water closet, and down the corridor.

"We won't tell Pai and Kisshu that I got hurt, right?" He asked her now. "It'll just be our little secret, okay?"

" 'kay!" Arissa grinned up at him. "I glad you not dead."

"That makes two of us!" Tart laughed again. "Let's eat!"

* * *

Later that night, Kisshu bundled Arissa up for their short excursion down to Earth. He hadn't talked to Pai, or Tart about this. He wanted to do this for Arissa, and see how she fared. _And while I'm at it, I'll show her how to litter._ He hid his smirk,when he picked her up. "Ready to go?" 

"No..." Arissa tried to get down. "I want Tart go too..." It was no secret that Tart and Arissa were extremely close.

"Well, Tart's sleeping right now. He had a long day. Tell ya what,kitten. We'll bring something back for him. How does that sound?" Kisshu couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. It seemed to him that Tart and Pai had somehow taken his place in Arissa's heart.

"'kay, Kisshu." Arissa let him hold her without struggling now, as they departed.

The air was cool, and calm down on Earth. Kisshu let Arissa down to play in the park they had landed in. "Stay close by,Kitten." He watched her tear over to the swings excitedly,as he leaped into a tree.

"kay, Kisshu!" Arissa promised excitedly. It felt strange for her. She felt heavy, and a little nauseated, but otherwise, the little girl felt like she'd somehow returned to familiar territory. Arissa ran over to the swings, and began to push herself on the swing.

"You're taking a big risk, bringing her down here, you know." A familiar voice spoke up suddenly. Kisshu looked behind him to see Mew Ichigo.

"Maybe..." Kisshu said, preparing to summon an infuser. "Isn't it past your curfew?"

"That's none of your business!" Mew Ichigo summoned her own weapon. She glanced behind her briefly. It was just as she and her teammates had planned it. Pudding was distracting Arissa with some of her acrobatic tricks.

"Hey, get away from her!" Kisshu yelled. "Arissa, run!" He yelled in pain when Ichigo's Strawberry Check blasted him out of the tree, and into the ground. "Ichigo..." He struggled to sit up. "Please..."

"Save it." Mew Ichigo replied. But even as she said, it didn't sound as fierce as she'd intended it to.

_Arissa...Don't leave me,kitten. Don't go with them..._Kisshu struggled to his feet, heading over to the swing set to get Arissa. "Get away from her!"

"We're not done yet, Kisshu!" Mew Ichigo landed in front of him, blocking his path. She spoke softly then. "I won't hurt you, if you just let her go." The two enemies just stared at each other silently then.

* * *

Mew Lettuce and Mew Pudding had a difficult task as well, and that was getting Arissa to go with them. "Calm down, little one. We're not going to hurt you..." Mew Lettuce tried to sooth her. 

"Her hurted my brother!" Arissa shrieked, glaring at Mew Ichigo. "Get 'way from him!"

Mew Pudding had tried her best to distract the child, but it had all been ruined when Kisshu fell out of the tree. "He's not hurt,see?" Pudding pointed. "He's fine." She had a lot of experience taking care of younger children, thanks to watching over her brothers and sisters.

Mew Lettuce picked Arissa up. "You have to come with us."

"NO! You hurt Tart! I no like you!" Arissa kicked and thrashed violently, bursting into tears. "Kisshu!"

Mew Lettuce tried to keep her hold on Arissa, but in the end, the younger child got free, trying to run towards Kisshu.

"Oh no you don't!" Mew Mint jumped in her way, and scooped her up. "We've been trying to get you back for months!" She held her firmly, yet kindly, attempting to sooth her.

"Let her go!" Kisshu glared at Mew Ichigo now. "You're scaring her! Is that what you wanted to do, Honey?"

"Ugh! I've told you already, I have a boyfriend! Don't call me that!" Mew Ichigo replied, ignoring his first remark.

Kisshu's heart ached.. He was about to lose Arissa, and it was all because he'd wanted to teach her a few things. Yet...a part of him wondered if this was what was best for the child. In a rash movement, he turned to Arissa's struggling form. "I'll be back for you, Arissa! Just be strong." He left quickly, before he could change his mind. Luckily, he didn't have to hear Arissa burst into heartbroken sobs, as Mint,Ichigo,Pudding and Lettuce headed back to Cafe Mew Mew with her.


	7. Ryou's Surprise Choice

**(Sorry this is a bit short,everyone. I had to get it out, and over with so I could work on Ch. 8 at school. See you guys next time!) **

**Chapter Seven- Ryou's Surprising Choice**

"How could you lose her? Why didn't you tell one of us?" Pai and Tart were gaping at their friend incredulously. Pai looked distraught at the thought of the Mew Mews getting away with taking their adopted child away. Tart looked annoyed that Kisshu didn't look as upset as he should. "Aren't you worried about her!"

Kisshu sighed, looking over at his two friends. "Yes, but I think this is better for her." He started to walk back to his room, but Pai grabbed his arm.

"After everything I went through for you to be able to keep her!" His elder friend glared at him. "Go back and get her, now!"

"Later." Kisshu replied, disappearing. Pai and Tart stared at each other, both in shock.

I

At the Café, the Mew Mews were having trouble calming Arissa down. Pudding had tried doing a talent demonstration. Even Mint had gone gentle towards her. Still, the child could not be soothed. She wanted Kisshu and his friends. These girls had hurt them. Especially her buddy Tart, and she didn't forgive them for it. "I wanna go homes."

Mint sighed. "I give up. Ichigo, you try. You used to babysit for her. Why don't you work on calming her down, before Ryou and Keiichiro come up here."

Ichigo swallowed, walking over to Arissa. _I didn't want to hurt her, or Kisshu...but,the Cyniclons were trying to turn her against all of humanity. _Just looking at her, Ichigo knew that her adorable former charge had already changed. She pulled up a chair beside Arissa and touched her shoulder lightly. "Hey, Rissa..."

The young girl looked up at Ichigo with contempt. "Take me back. Kish no hurted me. I loves him, Pai and Tart."

"But, Arissa, they're not good aliens, baby. They want to kill everyone and everything on Earth."

"Well, we not good earflings either. We ruined their planet." Arissa retorted. "I helping them fixes it."

Ichigo looked stunned at this child's knowledge. Had the Cyniclons really already gotten to her? It hadn't really been that long, had it? She sighed in defeat. "Arissa, I'm sorry. I can't take you back to Kisshu." This she said in the most firm voice she could muster.

"That's right." Ryou and Keiichiro had been standing in the doorway of the kitchen, as the girls had been trying to quiet the child. Now Ryou strode in easily, and picked her up. He ignored her squirms of protest, and just held her until she stopped. It was much like how Pai had taken to handling her very few tantrums. He sat down with her in his lap, and looked at the older girls and Keiichiro. "I told you before that where she went once we got her back was unimportant. The reason for it is because I had already planned to take her in temporarily as opposed to sending her to an orphanage."

The reaction was of the mixed variety. Ichigo looked like she was choking on her soda while Mint, Zakuro and Pudding just stared in awe. Finally, Ichigo broke the long silence. "Do you even know how to take care of kids?"

Ryou ignored her implied insult. He was talking to Arissa now about her new home. The child was confused as to why she had to live with him, when her Mommy was probably looking for her. "Well...see, your mother and father died late this afternoon." He spoke with sympathy, remembering how it felt to lose his parents so suddenly. He wanted to tell her it was the aliens' fault, but he didn't feel the time was right. "If I don't take you in, you'll end up in an orphanage. Those places aren't very nice." _And I'm not going to let Kisshu and his friends get at you again!_ He added silently to himself.

"Can I ever sees Kisshu again?" Arissa asked now. She was hoping this guy would give her a better answer than Mint had.

"I'm afraid not." Ryou replied gently, yet firmly. "We'll still have lots of fun though." He added the last part to persuade her, but Ryou knew that he and Keiichiro would have a lot of psychological damage to undo. "First thing tomorrow, we'll get you registered for school."

Arissa nodded, without verbally showing excitement. Pai had been her only teacher, and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about a new one, let alone a new place to live and learn. "What I call you?" She looked up at Ryou now. Even though she still wanted to be with Kisshu and his friends, she didn't particularly feel threatened by Ryou and his friends anymore either.

"Just Ryou will do." Ryou replied, as he stood up with her. He sat her down on the chair again. He then turned to Ichigo. "Get her a small milkshake, will ya? Arissa, tell her what flavor you want." With that, he walked back towards his room upstairs.

Arissa turned to look at Ichigo. "Anilla with whipped cream." She grinned cutely, as Ichigo hustled to the kitchen. She would drink this one in Tart's honor, since he couldn't have one as well.


	8. Of Foes and Fans

**Chapter Eight-Of Foes and Fans**

"Come on, Arissa! I have to sweep this place up!" Mint tried to coax the young girl out of the window booth. She was playing Jacks. She had been doing that ever since Ryou brought the game home for her at her request.

"Just do the other side. I'll get her to move in a few minutes." Zakuro advised. It had not been easy for the child to get over the Cyniclons. In Zakuro's opinion, she was still harboring a little anger towards the Mew Mews and towards Ryou and Keiichiro. She watched Zakuro come over. "I don't want to move. Ryou said I can stay here."

"Yeah, but Ryou also told Mint to clean up over here. Can't you just move for a few minutes?" Zakuro sighed. Because of the strange circumstances in which Ryou had acquired guardianship of Arissa, the child had become rather spoiled. "Come on, Arissa. Please." When shestill refused to move, Zakuro through up her hands. "Fine. Don't move then." She glanced at Mint, and pointed to the kitchen doors. They would go get Keiichiro to interfere. He was really very good with the child. Zakuro went about her other duties then. Keiichiro would deal with Arissa on his own.

* * *

Keiichiro was working on a new pastry when Mint came in to get him. "Problems?"

"Big ones. Ryou's charge is being difficult. She won't leave the window sill, and I need to get over there to sweep."

Keiichiro frowned. "What's she doing?"

"Playing jacks. I don't even know where she learned that game."

"Probably from one of the cyniclons, I'd imagine. I'll go get her. Sorry about that." Keiichiro went to the window seat. He watched her finish up another game, and then sat down beside the young girl. "Hey."

"Hi hi, chiro." Arissa really did like Keiichiro, even though he was against her best friend Kisshu. "I winned four times."

"Oh? That's wonderful!" He smiled amiably. "I wish I knew how to play that. It looks like so much fun."

"I teach you!" She started to let the jacks fall again, but the older boy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't we go see what Ryou is doing first? He's been too quiet lately. We'll play jacks later." Without waiting for a response, Keiichiro picked her up. "Mint's going to clean up your play area, okay?"

Arissa pouted, knowing that she'd not get her way with Keiichiro. "kay." They walked down to Ryou's laboratory. She was silent, knowing Ryou would be at work.

"Heh...Ryou, your little imp here was causing trouble." Keiichiro sat her down in an empty chair."

"Mmm..." Ryou looked up from his papers, and glanced at Arissa. "What are you up to?"

"Mint no let me play Jacks." Arissa pouted now.

"She was trying to clean up where Arissa was sitting, and she wouldn't let her." Keiichiro clarified.

"Arissa, if the girls have to clean upstairs, you have to learn to move out of their way. Where are the jacks?" Ryou had put his papers aside now, to give the situation his full attention.

"Uptairs." Arissa replied, wondering why her guardian wanted to know.

"Keiichiro, I want you to put those up for me. She can have them back in a week." Ryou announced. "Maybe then you'll learn to obey when someone asks you to do something."

"No fair!" Arissa glared at Ryou. "You said I tould play there!"

"I also thought you would know to move when asked." Ryou replied evenly. "If you continue to throw a fit, I'll keep them longer." He knew the beginnings of a temper tantrum when he saw one. "Keiichiro..."

"Right. Let's go, Arissa." Keiichiro took her by the hand, and they went back upstairs again. "Give me the jacks."

"No! Dey mine!" She grabbed up the jacks, and stuffed them in her pocket, before fleeing out of the cafe.

"Arissa!" Keiichiro ran after her, with Mint and Pudding, who had just gotten there after being in school.

"What's going on?" Pudding asked.

"Probably another one of her tantrums." Mint sighed in annoyance. "If she was mine to raise, I would've already given her a good smacking."

"She's still mad at us, I guess." Pudding concluded. "I mean, we did take her away from her best friends."

"Who weren't any good for her!" Mint shot back. "I mean, sure they seemed to really care for her, but still..." They caught up to Keiichiro, who was scowling up in a tree. When Mint looked up, she frowned too.

"And you thought you guys could raise her better? That's laughable. If Pai was down here, he'd give you thousands of statistics on how he knew it would never work!" Tart smirked from his position in a high tree, where he was holding Arissa tightly.

Keiichiro looked dumbfounded. "How did you know where she was?"

"That's simple. We've been keeping an eye on her for a long time. Pai insisted. We just had to wait for the right time, and now it's come." He patted the rather upset Arissa on the back. "It's alright, Arissa. Everything will be okay now. Big brother Tart will make sure they don't mess with you anymore, then we can go home."

"Don't even think about it!" Mint shouted. "She legally belongs to Ryou now!" She and Pudding glanced at each other.

The younger of the two looked up at Tart, pleadingly. "Please, Tart. She doesn't belong with you guys!"

"I'm sorry, Pudding. I really am. But I have to take her back with me now. Kisshu's missed her so much. He won't even fight with you guys right now."

"No wonder we've had such a long vacation..." Pudding put in, before Mint nudged her in exasperation. "That's not a good enough reason, though!"

Apparently, Arissa was wildly confused. She was trying to get down now. "No go..."

"Yes, go." Tart held her tighter. "You're starting to get as annoying as those mew mews. It's time to remind you of who raised you." He smirked at the Mew Mews and Keiichiro, before releasing an infuser from his palm. "Watch and learn, Little one." He sent out the bobbing infuser into a nearby plant. "So long, chicks." He left with Arissa then.

"He's kidding right! This is his worst work ever!" Pudding transformed, and finished off the weak predacyte quickly.

"It was meant to distract us, and it worked!" Mint muttered under her breath. "She's gone."

"Man! How am I going to explain this one?" Keiichiro muttered. "You don't think Tart will actually hurt her, do you?"

"I doubt it..." Pudding replied, being sincere. "She is his little friend. He wasn't really hurting her just now." The three of them headed back to the cafe.

* * *

"Nicely done, Tart." Pai smirked, taking Arissa from him. They were holed up in a cave somewhere south of Tokyo. Far enough away that the mew mews would never get to them before it was time for them to return to their ship. But first, Pai needed to talk to Arissa about what was now happening. He sat her down on the floor beside him. "It's been a long time, Arissa."

"I missed you..." She offered, happy to be near them again.

"We missed you too. It's a shame we keep having to go about things this way, isn't it? They're the ones to blame for it , though. Not us." Yes. He knew he could get Arissa back on their side of the line, with a little effort.

"Dey loves me." Arissa replied, defending the mews and the mews' leaders. She crossed her arms, making her point clear.

"They're only saying that. It was also their kind that hurt you so badly. We've never punished you or hurt you in anyway, have we? They're the ones who took you away from us." Pai watched for signs that Arissa was comprehending what he was saying.

Tart wasn't sure persuading her was going to be as easy as they had thought. He remembered then what she had said to him when he grabbed her. "We'll never try and take your toys away."

"Of course not!" Pai agreed. "Is that what they were doing? How cruel is that? Well, you won't have to worry anymore." He scowled now. Arissa was staring out of the cave, like she was thinking about leaving. "Arissa, Kisshu really misses you." It was his last tactic. He hoped it would work, otherwise, they would be taking her by force.

"I miss him too..." Arissa turned to look at Pai again. "Ryou sayed he's bad though."

"Listen you little-!" Pai was getting highly irritated with the child. A hand on his shoulder stopped him from advancing on her.

"Ryou is right." Kisshu stepped out into the light. "I am bad. But I would never intentionally hurt you, Arissa." He came over to Arissa, and scooped her up. "You're my little sister. I would never hurt you."

Arissa felt strange, being in Kisshu's arms, yet, comfortable at the same time. She squirmed a little bit, for good measure, before resting her head on Kisshu's shoulder. "I no like them."

"Good. We don't either. Let's stick together, the four us of us." He looked to Pai and Tart. "I think it's safe to go back now. Let's just give her the medicine first."

"Unbelievable. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd taken parenting classes." Pai remarked, giving him the vial with the liquid in it.

"Who says I didn't?" Kisshu quipped. He handed the vial to Arissa. "You know the drill."

"Yes." She drank it down without a complaint, taking the water that Tart offered her after that.

Tart smiled, ruffling her hair a bit. "Now maybe we can make you a real cyniclon." He left to return to the ship. Pai and Kisshu followed suit. Arissa was sure to remain with them now.

* * *

"I don't believe it." Ryou said calmly. A little too calmly. "Can't you handle a six-year old, Keiichiro?" He was staring at his old friend, frowning deeply. He was really upset by the news the other man had brought to him. "They'll work harder to make her strong enough to go against us. They'll train her until she can't move anymore."

"I don't know about that, Ryou. I actually saw Tart with her this time. He was relieved, as if she was his responsibility recovered." Keiichiro offered.

"They can't get away with this! I don't care how comforting they are to Arissa. She's just going to have to learn to live without them." Ryou stood up, and headed up to his room. "Tell the girls to search everywhere for them. With any luck, Arissa's been here long enough to try and resist them." _We can't just let the cyniclons have their way! That'd be like letting them win a battle. Even if Arissa hates me and everyone else for the rest of her life, it's for the good of mankind that we get her away from them._

_

* * *

_

"No. You've got to really focus, Arissa." Pai said patiently. "And you're not old enough." The girl had been bugging him to teach her how to make an infuser appear. "Besides, your type of predacyte wouldn't be animal. You're more of the plant nature. That's Tart's specialty." He chuckled in amusement at her crestfallen expression. "Oh, don't look so sour." He patted her on the head. "I've got a new toy for you, young one." He picked her up, and carried her into his new laboratory. He sat her down in his desk chair, and went into a closet. He produced a small string, with a pendant on it.

Arissa watched him come back with it, warily. "What that, Pai?"

"First, this is a pretty necklace for you to wear." He put it on for her. "It acts like a tracking device. If you're ever in trouble, I'll know about it in a heartbeat." He smiled at her, lovingly. "Kisshu thought you might like the color aqua..."  
"It my favorite!" Arissa stood up in her chair, and hugged Pai close. "I likes it."

"Good." Pai sat her back down, after hugging her back. "And now for the toy..." He handed her a fan. "Look familiar?"

Arissa's eyes widened the size of plates on a dinner table. "Dis yours!"

"Not quite. It's yours. It has almost the same power as mine, if it's used properly. I want you to have it on you at all times, Arissa. Especially if Kisshu takes you down below for an excursion." Pai smirked to himself, at her reaction to having a weapon just like his. She seemed to really like the idea. "However, you're not to use that on us. Is that understood?" He carried her over to his computer control console, and put up the pictures of the mew mews on it. "These are your target. Especially that one, right there." He pointed out Ryou to her.

Arissa hesitated, understanding what Pai intended for her to do. "No. They my friends."

Pai refrained from shaking the girl. "Enough of that! You're ours now, Arissa. You don't have to listen to them anymore."

"How's it going in here?" Kisshu was leaning in the door frame, looking bored.

"Quite as expected." Pai replied, setting Arissa on her feet. He watched her with a chuckle, as she tackled Kisshu into a loving hug. "Show Kisshu your new toy, Rissa."

"I haves a fan, jus' like big brother Pai!" Arissa showed him, proudly.  
"Heh heh." Kisshu scooped her up. "And I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun, blowing people away with it!" He smiled. "You're well on your way to becoming a true Cyniclon."

"When I be 'clon?" Arissa wanted to know. If she became a cyniclon, she'd never have to go back to Ryou and his friends. As much as she liked Keiichiro, she didn't like how the mew mews always hurt her brothers.

"Very soon now, I'm sure." Pai replied, coming over to them. "For now, I have something I need to take care of." He disappeared in front of them.

Kisshu smiled brightly at Arissa. "Come on, let's go show Tart! He'll be so proud of you!" _Won't the mew mews be surprised when one of their own race attacks them! _He snickered at the thought, as he went to hunt down Tart.

**(A/N: Awww! Such cuteness with the cyniclons being parental! And Pai gave her a fan of her own. Thank goodness for Season 2 premiering. Maybe next week, we'll get to see Tart's weapon. That'd be cool. Anyway, sorry for the length. I hope you enjoy it anyway.)**


	9. The Littlest Cyniclon

**Chapter Nine-The Littlest Cyniclon**

"I still don't think this is going to be a good idea." Tart told Kisshu. They were in some park with Arissa late one night. Pai doesn't really think she's ready, does he?" He watched the youngster with her new fan toy. "Be careful, Arissa. We don't want to leave too much evidence that we've been here." He shook his head. "She's got next to no control.."

"I know, but there's not a whole lot we can do about it. Pai's already made up his mind. I'm supposed to try and teach her how to make infusers. I didn't think humans could do it."

"Pai's lost it." Tart walked over to Arissa. "Come on. It's time to go home." He took her hand in his. They were just about to leave when Kisshu hissed for them to stop. "What's your deal!"

"It's Ichigo...and lover boy." Kisshu picked Arissa up soundlessly, gesturing for her to be quiet. "We don't want the cat girl to take you away again, do we?"

"No..." She whispered softly. The little girl watched Ichigo and Masaya silently. "Tan 'ttack them?" She held up her fan, remembering what Pai had told her that day.

"Hmm. Good idea." Kisshu glanced over at Tart. "We'll call it a test run." He set her down again. "Just be careful." He and Tart watched from a safe distance, as Arissa approached Ichigo.

* * *

"Arissa! What are you doing out here alone?" Ichigo was instantly worried. She moved to pick the young child up, but was quite shocked when a gust of wind blew her backwards. "What in the world!" 

"Take dat!" Arissa grinned proudly. "I'm a 'clon now, and I not coming wif you no wheres!" She waved her fan. "Wind dus'!" She glinted at Ichigo.

"Stop that!" Ichigo was panting now, after being thrown into a tree. She looked around wildly for Masaya, who had suddenly disappeared. "Masaya?" She looked back at Arissa. "Arissa, please. You don't want to be in with the Cyniclons. They're bad."

"No dey not! They don't hurts their young, wike we do. And they don't 'lute eifer!"

"But that's what they've been doing! They're slowly killing our planet, Arissa. Kisshu and his friends aren't nice aliens. And now they're trying to turn you against us too! I won't have it!" She stood up, and walked over to Arissa. "Give me the fan."

"Wind Dus'!" Arissa backed up a bit as Ichigo once again slammed into a tree. "Dis was a present from my brover! MINE!"

"That's it. I didn't want it to come to this..." Ichigo pulled out her power pendant, and transformed into Mew Ichigo. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"It means that this training session is over!" Pai came down now, and scooped up his foster sister. "You did well, Arissa."

"You three are sick! You think putting her in the middle of our fight is going to make things better? It's only going to make it worse!" Mew Ichigo glared at Pai. "Just give her back!"

"I 'taying with the 'clons!" Arissa clung to Pai tighter. "No let take me!"

"I wouldn't dream of it." Pai smirked at Mew Icghigo. "Let's go. Kisshu, Tart."

The three Cyniclons disappeared with her, leaving Mew Ichigo to stare in frustration.

* * *

"Have you two lost your minds! She could've been hurt!" Pai was trying to sooth the trembling child. "She's just a beginner. And you put her up against the leader of Tokyo Mew Mew!" 

"So? You told me to start training her." Kisshu yawned. "I was just following your orders, genius." Though, Kisshu did admit he felt really bad for having put Arissa in that kind of danger so soon.

"C'mere, Arissa." Tart beckoned the young girl over to him. "Let's get you a snack, then it will be time for bed for you." He scooped her up. "She shouldn't be listening to you two argue. It's not good for her." He took the child out of the room.

Pai and Kisshu glowered at each other. Then Pai sighed. "When I said to start training her, I didn't mean for you to let her attack the mew mews. I meant to teach her how to use her life energy to make stun balls and things like that. It's highly unlikely she'll be able to make infusers, unless we..." He started to smirk slowly, turning to go into his lab.

"Unless we what!" Kisshu didn't like the look his elder friend had on his face. "Pai! What are you talking about!" He followed him until the laboratory door was shut in his face. "Don't think this is over!" Kisshu disappeared back to his quarters. He was starting to realize the real danger he had put Arissa in by getting her involved with them. If anything were to happen to her, he'd never forgive himself.

* * *

"What we doing here, Pai?" Arissa looked up at her friend, curiously. They were in his laboratory. Pai had her on a table, and was preparing various syringes and things for some sort of test. He didn't answer her at first. He came over, and laid her down on the table. "Pai?" 

"Shh. It's going to be alright." Pai nearly muttered to her. He was about to put her to sleep with a chemical more potent than chloroform when Kisshu stormed in. "Don't interfere." He didn't even turn around.

"What are you doing! You promised not to hurt her, Pai!" Kisshu went over to where Arissa was laying. "What are you planning to do, Pai? Just tell me."

"I'm planning to merge some of our DNA with hers. Is that a problem? Once the procedure is completed, she'll have just about the same abilities as we do." Pai poured some liquid on to a cloth. "It won't hurt her too much because she'll be asleep." He came over to Arissa now. "Alright, Rissa. I just need you to breathe in deeply." He put the cloth over her mouth and nose, not forcing it. Arissa coughed miserably, trying to resist it. The smell was gross, and she hated it. "Stop struggling. It won't do you any good." He said to her now. He watched in satisfaction, as she began to go limp.

"You're crazy!" Kisshu tried to stop Pai, but only succeeded in being thrown back harshly. "Pai, don't do this!"

"Leave us." Pai said in his deathly quiet voice. "I can't do this properly with you screaming at me." He removed the cloth from the motionless girl's face. "I don't want to be disturbed for the next few hours."

Kisshu came over to Arissa, and petted her hair gently. "I am so sorry, little one. But...perhaps Pai knows what's best for your survival with us."  
"Oh stop getting so sappy! It's not as if I'm killing her." Pai was annoyed with the younger alien. "Now get out, so I can get started." He escorted Kisshu out of his laboratory, and locked the door behind him. Then he returned to Arissa, and began his work.

* * *

Kisshu paced in his room, nervously. _Please, Arissa. Forgive me. Forget Arissa. Ichigo is going to kill me! I promised her I wouldn't let the little one get hurt…and I know this is going to hurt…_

"Penny for your thoughts, Kisshu?" Tart was standing there with a confused expression on his face. "Pai's got his laboratory locked…that's weird."

"He is fusing our DNA into Arissa." Kisshu replied now, muttering it. "She's going to be a half-cyniclon now."

"That's crazy. We've never done any of that." Tart replied. His tone was incredulous. "Makes me wonder what's going on in his head."

"Nothing per usual." Kisshu replied, materializing an energy bubble idly. "She won't live through this, and if she does, it'll be a miracle. _If she lives through this, I probably won't. Ichigo will kill me._

"Are you two done talking about me?" Pai came into the room now, carrying a sleepy looking Arissa. "The procedure went fine." He patted Arissa's back. "How do you feel, little one?"

'Tired…" She gave a small yawn, and whimpered. "And my wibs hurt." She buried her face in Pai's neck.

"See? She's fine." Pai smirked triumphantly at Kisshu.

"You're lucky." Kisshu replied, seriously, as he took the sleeping child from him. "You just better hope you'll be fine when the Mew Mews find out." He walked off to put the young girl in bed.

"I'm not afraid of them." Pai called after him.

_I'm not normally, but this is different. I just hope when she's older, she'll understand…_Kisshu laid down next to his charge. "Please accept my advance apology.." He pulled her close to him, and then settled down for a nap.


	10. Kisshu's Decision

**Chapter Ten: Kisshu's Decision**

"Alright, Arissa, now concentrate!" Pai was confident that this time, Arissa would be able to produce the results he wanted. She was seven now, and completely recovered from the DNA merging procedure. He glanced at Kisshu, who had been given him the silent treatment for two months. The only words he ever spoke were in relation to the girl. Well, that was just fine with him. He didn't need Kisshu anyway.

"I did it! Look, Pai-sama, I did it!" ARissa was holding up her very first infuser. She showed it to Tart too. "See? I can do it."

"Very good. Now, you have to learn to control them. Can you do that?"

"That's enough, Pai." Kisshu walked over. "Arissa, come with me."

"I'm not finished with her yet. She's still has a long way to go." Pai scowled at Kisshu. _He's going to regret interfering with my plans._ He watched Kisshu disregard his request and pick up the girl gently. "Kisshu…"

"Shut up." Kisshu replied, carrying the child to the other side of the room. "She needs some fun." He disappeared with her, taking her to the play room that he and Tart had built for her birthday the month before. "Go on, little one. Go and play." He set her down, and watched her tear off gleefully towards the trampoline. She missed being able to run around at will. Pai had been training her too hard for the last few months after the surgery. _I hate to admit it, but that surgery did strengthen her quite a bit. She's done wonderfully up here since then. Still. She's a child alien, human or not. She's just a baby in my eyes, and I don't want her to get hurt. _

"Kisshu-kun, can you push me on the swing, please?" Arissa came over to him, and tugged gently on his tunic. "I'm still too short."

"You'll grow, little one. You will grow." Kisshu patted her head, and then picked her up. "The swings it is…" He pushed her for just a little bit, and then stopped the swing, squatting to her level in front of it. "Kitten…do you ever think about the Mew Mews?"

"Yeah! I wanna destroy them so you and Pai don't get hurt anymore!" She made a slashing motion as if she was carrying a sword.

"But, precious, you can't really go after them like that. They'd only hurt you." He wondered kind of thoughts Pai had been filling her head with. She seemed so much more grown up than she should be. "Wouldn't you….want to see your friend Ryou again?" _Could it be that Pai had gone against my wishes and erased her memories of her time on Earth? _

Arissa didn't reply at first. She stared into Kisshu's eyes, silently. She didn't understand why her missing Ryou or anyone from the blue planet suddenly mattered to him. He had spent so long telling her that Ryou and Keiichiro were bad people; (Even promising never to take her toys away from her to keep her away from them. ) But, now he was asking her if she missed them? Why? It didn't make any sense. _Of course I miss them. I've been missing Keiichiro-kun for a long time, and Ryou too, even though he did take my toys away. They were both so kind to me…and then I left them sad. _"Can I go see them, Kisshu?"

Kisshu nodded slowly. "I do think that's a good idea…" _We've had her for long enough, in my opinion. I'm certain Ryou and Keiichiro will still take her in, regardless of her new alien powers. _"Come on." He took her hand, and they went down below.

Pai growled under his breath from his position beside the playroom doorway. _What does he think he's doing?! All of my hard work on Arissa is going to go to waste if he gives her back to them! Damn you, Kisshu! I won't have it! I most certainly will not! _He stormed off down the hall, and to his laboratory. _I'll teach you a lesson, Kisshu. You don't mess with a good formula. It spoils the whole recipe._

* * *

Ichigo was sweeping the floor of the Mew Mew Café when Kisshu appeared suddenly, bearing Arissa. "Arissa!" She narrowed her eyes, seeing suddenly the difference. _What have they done to that poor girl?!_ "What have you done to her?" She reached over to take her from the alien, but Arissa slapped her away. "Arissa!" She backed up.

"Arissa, precious, don't do that to her. She's one of your friends…" Kisshu put her down, and took her hand in his. "Kitty cat. I need you to take her."

"What?! Why? What are you up to? She just tried to attack me!" Ichigo stared at the pair warily. It was obvious that Arissa no longer knew the difference between friend or foe. The Cyniclons had seen to that.

"Please. Pai means for her to fight along side us against you. I don't want to see her get hurt." Kisshu's face was full of worry for his little friend. He had gone quite soft when it came to the child. He loved her, almost as much as he loved Ichigo, if not more.

"What's going…you!" Keiichiro stood in the doorway of the kitchen, looking astounded. "Arissa…what…?"

Arissa looked over. "Keiichiro." She looked up at Kisshu, and when he nodded approvingly, she ran into the baker's arms. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too…" Keiichiro took note of how her features had changed, and how much taller she had gotten. What he noticed the most however was how stiffly she hugged him. "Arissa…what's happened to you? Did they hurt you?"

"Uh uh."

While they were reuniting, Kisshu took Ichigo by the wrist, and yanked her outside. "Please. I know you still care for her. I need you to take care of her. Pai has gone overboard, and I'm afraid she's far too influenced by him."

"What happens if she tries to attack us?! She's not exactly very friendly right now." Ichigo replied. _I wonder if Ryou could train her again. He undid their mess the first time… _"What makes you so sure she'll stay with us?"

Kisshu muttered. "I don't know." He sighed deeply. It was very true that Arissa was really attached to Pai and Tart as well as him. It would be hard to make her stay behind. He could imagine how much she would scream and cry. But, he would have to do it. It was for her own good. "It doesn't matter whether or not she wants to stay. She's staying."

"Is that so?" Pai came down from the tree he had been perched in. "Kisshu, you have interfered for the last time!" Suddenly, Predacytes surrounded Ichigo and Kisshu. "I predict that there won't be a chance for you to stop me from taking my sister back home." He left them to deal with the present situation, and barged into the café. "Arissa! Come over here at once." He was annoyed to find the girl eating a piece of chocolate cake with one of the Mew Mews' leaders. "I said now!" He grabbed her roughly. "You're coming home with me right now."

"No! I wanna stay and finish my cake!" Arissa screamed indiginantly. "Kisshu-kun said I could!"  
"Too bad Kisshu's not in charge of your training. I am." Pai picked her up then. "Now come!"

"Put. Her. Down." Kisshu said crisply from behind Pai. "She's staying here. She doesn't belong in our fight with the Mew Mews." He produced one of his daggers. "Don't make me fight my own teammates."

Arissa watched this from Pai's arms. Her eyes widened. "No! Don't fight!"

"He's not leaving me very much choice in the matter!" Pai set her down hard on her feet. "Arissa, now you can prove to me how well you've learned. Fight him."

"No way! I'm not going to fight her!" Kisshu threw an infuser at Pai. "Arissa, go with your friend back there. Now, hurry!"

"Don't even think about it!" Pai produced a force field cage, and it surrounded Arissa. "We finish this now, Kisshu. First you couldn't fight the Mew Mews because you fell in love with their leader. And now you want to take all my hard work and destroy it for the sake of her being free! That was not the agreement, and you know it."

"It was not the agreement for you to work her so hard either! She's a child, damn it! Only really jerks like you work that hard at the age of seven! As I recall, someone wanted me to take care of her, but ever since your experimental infusing of our DNA worked on her, you've been using her as your own personal weapon against the mew mews, and it's not fair to her!"

"You really are a fool." He pulled out his fan.  
"No!! Kisshu-kun!!" Inside her prison, Arissa was crying hysterically. She had never seen her precious cyniclons fight like this, and it really was hard to understand. "Let me out, please!"  
"Shut it, or else." Pai glared at her, giving her a warning look. He had enough to deal with without Arissa getting insolent too. "Kisshu. I do hope you've said good bye to your little girl friend." He was just about to finish the younger alien when he was grabbed by a vine. "Gah!! What the…Tart?!"

"That's right." The now teen Tart had Arissa on his hip. "You have gone too far, Pai. We won't be able to accomplish our objective if you kill Kisshu. She's not worth it!" Tart was holding Arissa close though. He looked down at her. "You're staying here."

"No! I wanna stay with Kisshu-kun!!"

"Let me take her outside for a minute, okay?" Kisshu had put his dagger away. He took the child into his arms, and leviated to the roof of the café. "Listen, kitten…" He found himself choking up. "When…" He cleared his throat, trying to be strong. "When I kidnapped you…I had no intention of being good to you. I wanted to use you to get to Mew Ichigo. I..I killed your parents. And…well, even with all of that, I found myself really loving you. And…well, that's why you have to stay here from now on. It's because I love you." By the time he finished his explanation, both he and Arissa were in tears. He held her very tightly. "No matter what happens, Precious, I will always love you. Okay? I mean it."

"I love you too, Kisshu-kun…and I always will."

"Me too, squirt." Tart was there now, and he picked her up gently. "It'll all be alright. Just…stay out of the way. We don't want you to get hurt anymore." He took her back down to the café, and handed her to Ryou, who had now joined them all. "Please, treat her well."

"We'll do better than you have." Ryou replied darkly, holding the sobbing girl gently. "We will."

"We did pretty well, if I do say myself." Tart retorted in an offended tone. "She knows right from wrong."

"I doubt that." Ryou glowered at him. "Now get out of here, before I send my girls on you."

"Fine." Tart was annoyed by his attitude. He returned to his friends, miffed. "That Ryou guy…he's lucky I did hurt him! He had the nerve to say he'd do better than we did with Arissa!"

"It may be he's right…" Pai said now. He was watching from the window, as the Mew Mews and their leaders tried to comfort the heartbroken child. _I…I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late. Kisshu was right to take her away. _He sighed deeply, turning to his brothers. "Let's get out of here. We need to regroup, and revamp our strategy." The Cyniclons disappeared then.

* * *

Inside the café, Keiichiro saw the Cyniclons leave, and wondered if this was the end for them, as far as Arissa was concerned. He turned to the girls and Ryou, who were working steadily on calming the hysterical girl down a bit more. Arissa was slowly quieting in Ryou's arms, though she seemed to keep looking for her alien "family". She sobbed softly, burying her face in Ryou's chest miserably.

"I know, Sweetie, I know…" Ryou held her close to him. "I'm sure it was hard on Kisshu too…he didn't want to give you up….it was just something he had to do…" Ryou may not like the Cyniclons. In fact, he loathed them with every fiber of his being, but at the same time, he knew that now was not the time to remind Arissa of that. Besides, thanks to Pai experimenting on her, Arissa _was_ half cyniclon. He stood up with her in his arms. "I think I'm going to take her back to my house for the night. Keiichiro, you can handle things here, can't you?"

"Yep." He smiled gently at Arissa. "You're going to be happier with us, Arissa. Just you watch." He watched Ryou leave with her, and then turned to the mew mews "Well, that's one crisis that's finally come to an end.

"I don't think it was the end…I think it's more like a new beginning." Mint commented. The others nodded in agreement.

"Well, either way, Arissa is back where she belongs, and with people who will lover her, and not use her.

"Yep! Though…somehow, I don't think this will be the last time they will want to see her." Pudding said now, frowning. "Oh well. Let's just enjoy having her back for now."

"Yeah!!" The other girls agreed. Things would be back to normal before they knew it, and Arissa would be better off.

**(A/N: And finally, we come to the end of this first Mew Mew fic. It took a while, but I was finally able to come up with a decent scene for the ending that I could be satisfied with. I hope you are all satisfied with it as well. Enjoy the ending! Thanks so much for all of those who reviewed, and kept up with it, and reminded me it was still here.)**


End file.
